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Keywords

plant-based diet, plant-based milk alternatives, PBMA, Blue Diamond Breeze, Califia Farms, Oatly, Planet Oat, Ripple, Silk, almond milk, Food and Drug

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The preference for plant-based diet options has steadily increased for the American public. This is all particularly true for alternative milks. By the end of 2020, plant-based milk alternatives (“PBMA”) accounted for approximately fifteen percent of the total milk market and thirty-five percent of the overall plant-based market, making alternative milks, particularly almond, one of the most popular ways for people to dabble in a plant-based diet. Almond milk holds the gold in the U.S. plant-based milk market. It is, first, essential to examine the comprehensive context surrounding almond milks’ status on grocery shelves. This writing will attempt to do so by, one, asking why shoppers put almond milk in their grocery cart, in lieu of the presumptive dairy choice, in the first place. Second, the writing will put those consumer responses under a microscope, examining whether any truth backs the peoples’ choice and rationale. Third, the article will explore the current regulatory schemes put forth by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in guaranteeing that those rationales are justified, specifically looking at the holes in the current regulatory schemes and guidelines that fail to address the changing landscape of marketing that is social media. Finally, the article will culminate with a return to focus on almond milk as an example of the current gaps in regulation addressing social media’s influence on consumer choice regarding food.

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